Friends or Foes
by murp-o
Summary: Zuko had joined the avatar's team. Mai had abandoned her for Zuko. Ty Lee blocked her chi. So much for allies. If only they feared her more but apparently they didn't, and now they were going to pay with Zuzu at the top of the list.


**(A/N): Line breaks are annoying to make and writer's block is stupid.**

 **Written for Round 2 of the Pro-Bending Circut.**

 **Team:** Harbor Town Hog Monkeys (Firebender)

 **Game Piece:** Knight

 **Prompts:**

Word: Checkmate (1 point)

Character: Zuko (2 points)

Poem: A Poison Tree (3 points)

 **Word Count (Excluding Author's Notes):** 944

* * *

 **I was angry with my friend;**

 **I told my wrath, my wrath did end.**

* * *

The Royal Fire Academy for Girls was a prestigious school. Azula had met Ty Lee and Mai there and invited them to the court yard to practice their fighting, or acrobatics in Ty Lee's case. It was turning out to be a bad idea.

"Watch where you're cartwheeling," Azula snapped as Ty Lee cartwheeled into her.

"Sorry Azula!" Ty Lee said, her smile not faltering a bit. Azula sighed. Why was the girl so cheerful all the time? She hadn't once seen her mad at someone which she did not understand. She sighed and went back to her fire bending, trying to ignore the cartwheeling figure that was really close to the flames. She couldn't stay mad at Ty Lee, it was surprisingly hard to hold a grudge on the girl.

* * *

 **I was angry at my foe;**

 **I told it not, my wrath did grow.**

* * *

If there was one thing that Azula had known since she was born, it was that she was more powerful than Zuko. But her mother favored him and he would be the next fire lord, not her. It was unfair. What had he accomplished? She was two years younger than him and yet she could do everything he could do. Nothing about him was better except for the fact that he was older than her.

But what use was it telling people? Nothing would change.

* * *

 **I watered it with my fears,**

 **Night and morning with my tears;**

* * *

Slowly she felt the hate grow stronger. She teased him, showed off in front of him, and tried everything she could to annoy him.

"Come on Zuzu, one game," Azula whined.

"No, go away," Zuko muttered. "Go play with Mai or Ty Lee."

"Is little Zuzu scared?" Azula taunted. Zuko glared at her. She smirked.

"I'm not scared," He retorted. "And I'm not little."

"Well if you aren't scared then why won't you play a game of chess against me?"

Zuko grumbled. "I have other things to do than waste time with you."

Azula laughed. "What do you have to do? Play with your turtle duck friends?" She asked. "Face it, you're just scared that you'll lose."

"Fine," Zuko relented. "I'll play a stupid round of chess against you."

She won the game in four minutes.

"Checkmate," she said snidely. "Guess you're bad at everything after all."

* * *

 **And I sunned it with smiles,**

 **And with soft deceitful wiles.**

* * *

Azula told her father that it was Zuko that captured and killed the avatar. She knew that the avatar was alive and she knew that Zuko also knew however, her father didn't and when he does find out, she knows that Zuko would be in big trouble. As she left the throne room, she smiled at Zuko.

"He forgives you," she said. Zuko looks at her suspiciously before walking off.

Later, Zuko wakes her up to question why she had told father that he had captured the avatar; questioning her ulterior motives.

"Please Zuko, what ulterior motive could I have? What could I possibly gain by letting you get all the glory for defeating the Avatar?" She said, smiling. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Unless, somehow, the Avatar was actually alive. All that glory would suddenly turn to shame and foolishness. But you said it yourself, that was impossible." The realization is obvious.

She regretted nothing.

* * *

 **And it grew both day and night,**

 **Till it bore an apple bright.**

* * *

He had left. Azula wasn't surprised when she heard the news. She was, in fact, happy when her father confirmed it.

"I need to know that everyone by my side is loyal," he had said. "Don't you dare be like him; I knew he was never devoted to being in the fire nation. He's a fugitive, don't hesitate to kill him."

Azula bowed.

Inside, she was fire bending the traitor into ashes.

* * *

 **And my foe beheld it shine,**

 **And he knew that it was mine.**

* * *

Zuko had joined the avatar's team.

Mai had abandoned her for Zuko.

Ty Lee blocked her chi.

So much for allies. If only they feared her more but apparently they didn't, and now they were going to pay with Zuzu at the top of the list.

The avatar and his friends were staying at the Western Air Temple. It was a blindingly obvious place to stay with the Avatar being an air bender and wanting to be closer to his culture. It was so obvious it was stupid. But Azula didn't need to make a deduction to find them. Instead, she just followed Zuko and Sokka back to the temple.

She looked down at the campsite. "Fire," she ordered. The fire nation soldiers complied. The bombs rained down, waking the avatar and his friends. The few earth benders made tunnels as the avatar seemed to be arguing over the flying bison. Zuko ran out of the tunnel and towards the air ships.

"I got this," she ordered the soldiers. "He's mine to kill."

She made sure he knew it.

* * *

 **And into my garden stole,**

 **When the night had veiled the pole;**

* * *

She was the new fire lord. Azula had known from a young age this was what she was meant to be. Not Zuko. Not some other royalty. It was always meant to be her. Everything was ready. The fire sages slowly start to lower the crown onto her head.

Then they stop. Zuzu wanted an agni kai and so they would have one.

* * *

 **In the morning glad I see;**

 **My foe outstretched beneath the tree.**

* * *

"Checkmate Zuzu," she muttered under her breath. "Checkmate."


End file.
